Feeding mechanism



May 12, 1931. s. HALVORSEN 1,804,610

, FEEDINGMECHANISM Original Filed June .5. 1924' 5 Shets-Sheet 1 4 May1931. s. HALVORSEN 1,304,610

FEEDING MECHANISM Original Filed June 5, 1924 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 R Jwmwr,

505 N ,jqver looztsen May 12, 1931. s. HALVORSEN 1,804,610

' FEEDING MECHANISM Original Filed June 5, 1924 5 Sheets-Sheet sJaverz'rz flCZUO 719671 May 12, 1931. s. HALVORSEN 1,804,610

I FEEDING MECHANISM Original Filed June 5, 1924 5 Sheets-Sheet 4Ill/8221671 629087172 Jfalvonsen May 12, 1931. s. HALVOR SE N FEEDINGMECHANISM s Sheets-Sheet 5 Original Filed June 5, 1924 629082172JiQZUOT-SQIZ witness Patented May 12, 1931 onrrsn STATES PATENT OFFICESEVERIN HALVoRsnN, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, nssronon To mm NEWSPAPER STUFF-ING MACHINE COMPANY, or SEATTLE, WAsHINs'roN, A CORPORATION or WASH-INGTON FEEDING MECHANISM lily invention relates to feed mechanisms andparticularly to feed mechanisms for automatically feeding papers orpaper sections from a stack in which they are piled flatwise one aboveanother.

In theacc'ompanying drawings Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a feedingmechanism embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a planview ofthe same; Fig. 3 is an end view of the machinelooking toward the left hand end in Fig. 2;

"' folded edges of said newspapers.

Figs. 4 and 5 are cross sections taken on lines 4-land 55, respectively,in Fig. 2

Fig. 6 is across section similar to Fig. 5, with the parts in differentposition; and

Fig. 7 is a. view ofa detail of construction. Referring to the drawingsI show a feeding mechanism particularly adapted for feeding newspapersections for various purposes, as for example, for a newspaper stuffingmachine. 7

There is shown a stack 'inwhich these sections are arranged in fiatwiseposition in a vertical pile, as shown in Figs. 5 and 6, said stackconveniently consisting of front and back uprights 1 and 2 and sideuprights 3 and 4;. The newspaper sections 5-5 rest on a flat plate orbase member-6, which is terminated at a short distance behind theuprights 1, so that there is a space below the front or folded edges ofthe newspapers 5-5, and it is through this space that said papers arefed one after another.

A plurality, preferably four, of fingers 88, are mounted at the front ofthe papers and arranged to swing back and forth so that the bent ends 9of said fingers will come into and out of position below the forward orFor this purpose said fingers are preferably mounted.

on a rock shaftlO which carries a. crank arm 11 having a bolt or pin 12working in a slot 13 in a reciprocatinglink 1-1 which is pivoted by apin 15 to sprocket wheel 16. Sprocket wheel 16 is driven by sprocketchain 18 run ning over another sprocket 19 on rotary shaft 20, which isrotated by driving shaft 21 by means of gears and 23. A spring 23a isconnected with an arm 24- on rock shaft 10, said spring being for thepurpose of swinging the fingers 88 so as toplace their hook ends 9underneath the stack of papers.

By this arrangement it will be seen that the link 1 1 willintermittently actuate the crank arm 11 and thereby rock shaft 10, andso cause the fingers 88 to swing outwardly and that these fingers willbe swung back underneath the papers by the spring 2342. As a result ofthisarrangement they lowermost paper or paper section 5 is released,permitting it to drop and then theffingers will be retracted and willlit in above the depressed bottompaper, permitting it to be withdrawnand below the other paper sections, causing them to be held in position.

A plurality of swinging pneumatic pullers or suckers 25-25 are arrangedat the front of the stack and in position to engage the lowermostpapersection and draw the same down after it-has been released by thefingers 8. To such end the suckers 25 are mounted on a tubular shaft 26which is rocked by an arm 27 pivotally connected with alink 28 actuated.by an eccentric 29 on rotary shaft 20. Tubular shaft 26is connected asby a hose 31 withsuitable air pressure reducing apparatus, so thatsuction or an air pressure repermitting said lowermost paper section toswing downwardly when said bar is withdrawn rearwardly, whereby anautomatic movable support is provided for the lowermost: paper sectionautomatically accommodating the downward swinging movement of the same.The horizontal reciprocating motion of bar 33 is convenientlyaccomplished by means of a reciprocating rock 34 which is actuated by agear 35 on rock shaft 36 which is rocked by link 37 controlled byeccentric 38 on shaft 20. By this arrangement the reciprocatingsupporting bar 33 will be movedback and forth for the purposes abovespecified.

Means are also provided for engaging and withdrawing the bottom paper orpaper section, after thesame has been released by fingers 8 and drawndownwardly by suckers 25. This means preferably comprises a rotarysegment 40 cooperating with a rotary disk or wheel 41, the segment 40having a shoulder 42 adapted to engage the end of the lowermost papersection as it drops from the pile or stack, as shown in'Fig. 6, and toforce the same to roll 41 and cause it to be gripped between the surface43 of segment e'O and surface of roll 41, whereby said lowermost papersection is automatically pulled down over and around backwardly movingbar 33 and withdrawn from the stack or pile.

As a preferred arrangement roll 41 is mounted on a sliding bearing 41aenclosed in a guidewa or housing 415, and subject to pressure of aspring 110 tending to push said roll toward the segment 40 and therebyforming a tight but elastic grip on the paper section. The paper sectionwhen so withdrawn is forced downwardly and delivered in any desiredmanner, as for example, by sliding it along a supporting slide 45arranged below segment i0.

It will be understood that because the loose piece 41d is pivoted ata-point of its extent which first contacts the associated member 40,that it will act to grip the paper as though it were integral with themember 41 insofar as it will not yield; but as the point of tangencybetween it and the member 420- progresses toward the opposite end of thesaid loose piece or block 41d, the spring .1; will operate to lessen thepressure on the paper held between these partsand the pressure or forcewill diminish in a varying degree, thus allowing the rolls i6 and 47 totake the paper fromtherebetween without danger of damage thereto.

Roll 4-1 is preferably provided with'a loose piece 41d, pivoted at 41cand subject to a spring 41f tending to push it outwardly. This forms anelastic or cushion roll portion, cooperating with segment 40, whichpermits the end portion of the paper'section to slipas it is drawn uponrolls 4:6 and 17, said rolls turning more rapidly than segment 40 androll 41 so that papers may be fed out rapidly.

A pair of feeding wheels 46 and 47 are preferably provided near the endof slide 45 and paper section 5 is fed between these wheels.

Thus it will be seen that the paper or paper sections will be fed one byone out of the stack in which they are contained, the bottom paper orsection being successively released by fingers 88 and then drawndownwardly by suckers 25 and then gripped and pulled out from the stackby segment 40- i1, and that this operation continues automatically andquickly, causing a rapid and effective feed.

It will be understood that changes and modifications may be made withoutdepart ing from the spirit of the invention.

lVhat I claim is:

1. In a feeding machine a stack of flat articles, fixed means forsupporting the rear portions of said articles, movable means for supporting the front portions of said articles, said means comprisingswinging fingers suspended from a rock shaft for alternatel supportingand releasing said articles, an osciliatable arm having pneumatic meansfor engaging and flexing the lowermost of said articies, and withdrawingmeans comprising cooperating rotary members, one of said members havinga resilient portion, the other said member having a recessed portion forengagsaid articles.

2. The combination of a stack for a pile of papers or paper sections,means for supporting the rear portions of said papers 01' sections insaid stack, reciprocating lingers for sippor ting the front ends of thepapers and intern'iittently releasing the lowermost paper orsection,means for drawing the front end of the lowermost section downwardly whenso released, withdrawing means for engaging the lower front end of thepaper or section and withdrawing the same from the stack and areciprocating member arranged below the stack for cooperating with thebottom paper section as the same is withdrawn.

3. The combination of a stack for a pile of papers or paper sections,means for supporting the rear portions of said papers or sections insaid stack, reciprocating fingers for supporting the front ends of thepapers and intermittently releasing the lowermost paper or section,pneumatic means for drawing the front end of the lowermost sectiondownwardly when so released, withdrawing means for engaging the lowerfront end of the paper or section and withdrawing the same from thestack and a reciprocating member arranged below the stack forcooperating with the bottom paper section as the same is withdrawn.

a. The combination of a stack for a pile of papers or paper sections,means for supporting the rear portions of said papers or sections insaid stack, reciprocating fingers for supporting the front ends of thepapers and intermittently releasing the lowermost paper or section,pneumatic means for drawing the front end of the lowermost section berarranged below the stack for cooperating with the bottom paper sectionas the same is withdrawn, said withdrawing means com-- prising a segmentto engage the bottom paper or section and a roll cooperating therewithto grip the same.

5. The combination of a stack for a pile of papers or paper sections,means for supporting the rear portions of said papers or sections insaid stack, reciprocating fingers for supporting the front ends of thepapers and intermittently releasing the'lowermost paper or section,pneumatic means for drawing the front end of the lowermost sectiondownwardly when so released, withdrawing means for engaging the lowerfront end of the paper or section and withdrawing the same from thestack and a reciprocating member arranged below the stack forcooperating with the bottom paper section as the same is withdrawn, saidwithdrawing means'co-mprising a segment to engage the bottom paper orsection and a roll cooperating therewith to grip the same, and mechanismfor actuating said fingers and for operating said pneumatic drawingmeans and said roll and segment and said reciprocating member.

6. In a machine of the character described, having a stack for thepapers or sections, a stationary support for the rear portions of thesame, means for drawing down the lowermost paper or section and meansfor withdrawing the same from the stack comprising a rotary segmentengaging said lowermost paper, a roll cooperating with said segmentarranged to grasp the sections therebetween, and means for rotating saidsegment and roll comprising gears on the same, a sprocket wheel carriedby one of said members, a sprocket chain running over said wheel and adriving shaft carrying a second sprocket wheel driving said chain.

7 In a machine of the character described having a magazine forsupporting a stack of sections of means for supporting a portion of thepapers or sections in the stack and means for intermittently leavinganother portion unsupported for withdrawal, means for with drawing thelowermost paper or section from the stack and a horizontallyreciprocating bar arranged below the stack and mounted for reciprocationin a plane parallel to the plane of the sections to permit cooperationwith said withdrawing means.

8. In a machine of the character described having a magazine forsupporting a stack of sections of means for supporting a portion of thepapers or sections in the stack and means for intermittently leavinganother portion unsupported for withdrawal, means for withdrawing thelowermost paper or section from the stack and a horizontally.reciprocating bar arranged below the stack and mounted forreciprocationin a plane parallel to the plane of the sections to permitcooperation with said withdrawing means, and means for reciprocatingsaid member.

9. In a machine of the character described having a magazine forsupporting a stack of sections of means for supporting a portion of thepapers or sections in the stack and means for intermittently leavinganother portion unsupported for withdrawal, means for withdrawing thelowermost paper or section from the stack and ahorizontallyreciprocating har arranged below the stack and mounted forreciprocation in a plane parallel to the plane of the sections to permitcooperation with said withdrawing means, and means for reciprocatingsaid member, said means comprising a sliding carrier and means forreciprocating the same.

10. In a machine of the character described having a magazine'forsupporting a stack of sections of means for supporting a portion ofthepapers or sections in the stack and means fo intermittently leavinganother portion unsupported for withdrawal, means for withdrawing thelowermost'paper or section from the stack and a horizontallyreciprocating bar arranged below the stack'and mounted for reciprocationin a plane parallel to the plane of the sections to permit cooperationwith said withdrawing means, and means for reciprocating said member,said means com prising a sliding rack, a gear wheel coopertionunsupported for withdrawal, means for withdrawing the lowermost paper orsection from the stack and a horizontally reciprocating bar arrangedbelow the stack and mounted for reciprocation in a plane parallel to theplane of the sections to permit cooperating with said withdrawing means,and means for reciprocating said member, said means comprising a slidingrack, a gear wheel cooperating with said rack, and means for rotatingsaid gear, said means comprising a link pivotally connected with an armon the gear shaft and a driving shaft provided with an eccentricactuating said link.

12. A feeding mechanism comprising a stack for the papers or papersections, means for supporting the rear portions of the same, butleavingthe front port-ionsintermittently unsupported to permitwithdrawal,.reciprocating fingers normally supporting the front ends ofthe papers, means for swinging saiders arranged to lower the front endof the bottom paper or section, means for support ing and swinging saidsuckers, a reciprocating bar located below the stack and arranged toreciprocate to some extent the unsupported front ends of the papers orsections, means for reciprocating said bar, means for engaging andwithdrawing the bottom paper or section from the stack after it has beenpreliminarily lowered, said means comprising a rotary segment andcooperating roll, and means for driving the same.

13. In a feeding mechanism, the combination of a feeding segment andcooperating roll, a yielding block pivotally connected at one endthereof to the said roll, a spring between the block and the said roll,of a pair of feed rolls cooperating with the segment and roll andprovided with means for rotating same more rapidly than segment and.roll rotate.

14. In a feeding mechanism of the character described, a rotating rollcombined with arotating segment arranged longitudinally with respect toeach other, a pivotally connected block associated With'the'said roll, aspring interposed between the said block and the said roll, the saidblock, by virtue of its mounting, exerting a force of varying degree asthe point of tangency between it and the said segment progresses in therotation thereof. i

In witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name this 28th day of May,A. D. 1924.

SEVERIN HALVORSEN.

